


I Will Shield You (from the Waves)

by orphan_account



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies), Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Character Death, Drift Bond, Drift Compatibility, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Stream of Consciousness, Welcome to my dumpster, keith reluctantly joins, other ships tbd - Freeform, the pacific rim au no one asked for, they're all a bunch of nerds though, very slow burn, we're talking embers slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-23 01:31:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16609298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Theincessant badgereris presumed dead, the strings already pulled to allow him in, but Keith doesn’t believe it.  He can’t believe, and he’s so much as said so.  But they’ve told him to keep quiet and there’ll be no issue.But he knows.He’s certain.And the only way to him is through finally conceding; they have resources and information he doesn’t, anddammit he’s going to find Shiro.





	I Will Shield You (from the Waves)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, welcome to Chili's.
> 
> A few notes, though, before we begin:  
> 1) I've taken a few liberties with the _Pacific Rim_ universe, so please don't be surprised when a few inaccuracies do arise.  
> 2) This chapter's a _bit_ on the shorter side for what I'm aiming for in this fic, so you can go ahead and expect longer ones in the future.  
> 3) I have three parts planned for this story. I'm not sure yet whether I want to put all the parts into one fic yet or put them in a series, so we'll kind of play that by ear.  
> 4) The title comes from _The Last of the Real Ones_ by Fall Out Boy. I have a whole playlist for this AU, and I might share it in a later chapter if there's enough interest.  
> 5) Concrit is welcome.
> 
> Thank you for your time and merry reading!

He can taste the salt through all the metal and sweat and through what’s supposed to be cleaner air in his helmet; it’s a bitterness that lingers on his tongue and reminds him of thirst and heat, but it’s one he has to swallow.   _ We’re here for a reason _ , he reminds himself as the familiar pump of hydraulics churns in the background; he’s better disciplined than to let them impact his duty.

His partner agrees.  He doesn’t have to say so, but he doesn’t need to.

His copilot’s discomfort is indistinguishable from his own.

“Vancouver to Kerberos.  This is Commander Iverson.  Report.” The voice crackles to life over the speakers.  There’s no information they can give that the command center doesn’t already know; it’s protocol.  Communication.

Still he forgets for a moment that he needs to vocalize that, and the words feel dry and clunky on his tongue.  “We’re in position, but we don’t have a visual yet.”

“The category three is approaching from the southwest.”  It’s the confirmation they’ve been waiting for, and he rolls his neck in the confines of his suit and attachments.  “Stay alert.”

“Yes, sir.  Understood, sir.”

He can not only feel a pair of eyes fall onto him, but he can see himself through them.  He sees the easiest of smiles toy with his lips behind his helmet as the other speaks. The sooner they can finish this, the sooner they can make it back home; piloting unfortunately leaves little time uninterrupted.

Kaiju seem to have little care for human follies like  _ dates _ .

His copilot chuckles.

“It’s better if we meet it before it makes landfall.  Keep it as far away from the city as we can,” he reasons aloud.

_ Agreement _ .

“You don’t have to tell me twice.  Let’s welcome it to Canada.”

The beast comes in a rain of ocean water.  A deceptively still mist clings to the air, suspended under the moonlight, but they’re ready for it as metal meets monster.  They’ve managed the first of the hits, and it’s enough to stun the kaiju and allow them another hit. It’s back in the water, and they follow it into the ocean.

Right step together, left step together, every movement together.  Every inch together.

Every fall together.

The kaiju’s swept at the jaeger’s legs, sending it staggering into the waves.  They’ve taken harder, though, and they’re able to regain their footing once more before the kaiju’s able to gain the upper hand.  They’re slower in the jaegers, weighed down by tons of metal and gears, but where they lose speed they make up in raw power.

Raw power that’s given them the advantage over the kaiju.

_ Sword _ .

And as soon as the thought’s passed they’re whipping their arm back, machine grinding as it assembles the weapon, and they charge.

_ Go, go, wind up, sink it in. _

The sword goes through the kaiju’s shoulder, but it’s undeterred, colliding with them.  The jaeger shudders with the impact, and the kaiju lands more more hit that sends them reeling back.  The sword lodged in the kaiju’s shoulder snaps in a sickening  _ crack _ , and he lets a  _ shit _ breathe out.

“Kerberos to Vancouver, we need backup!”

He doesn’t catch what Commander Iverson responds with; the kaiju’s on them, shoved them against a cliffside in a deafening crash, and he can feel his heart stop.

Or was it his copilots?

_ The canon _ .

It’s not clear who the thought’s from either, just that it’s  _ something _ .  It’s something they still have, it’s their best chance, and his arm grows numb with the dawning realization that they may not make it out of this.

This is a category three kaiju.

There should be no reason that they shouldn’t be able to, but, as it’s looming over them, as the canon’s charging, he realizes that the universe apparently didn’t get this memo.  They struggle against its weight, but it’s planted, unshakable, insurmountable, and they’re trapped.

_ Better us than Vancouver _ .

_ I’ll be damned if we’re not taking it down with us. _

“Commander Iverson!”  Something between desperation and urgency forces it to a bark, and he doesn’t wait for a response on the other end.  The other keeps his eyes ahead, bracing for whatever the kaiju’s planning, and arm poised with his and waiting. Waiting for the canon, but they don’t have the time.

_ Come on _ .

“Are you sure this is a category three?”  Such insubordination is rare from him, but the question rips itself from him before he can reel it back.  There has to have been a mistake somewhere. “Have the backup intercept this one --- just. Just in case.”

“They’re on their way, Kerberos.  Keep it up until they arrive.”

_ He doesn’t get it _ .  The frustration’s gripping at his stomach, twisting it, and he’s sure there’s fear and panic in there, too.  They’re going to die. That’s it. There is no  _ keeping it up _ .  There’s no nothing but making sure it doesn’t make it to Vancouver.

_ We’re not going to die here, Shiro _ .

“There’s no ---”

The canon’s charged.

_ The canon’s charged _ .

They’re point blank with the kaiju; they just need to get the arm free for one shot.  With a renewed vigor they push, an attempt to disbalance the creature, and it sways. It’s enough to move it, but not enough to free them.  The creature’s all but shoving the arm away with a blood curdling cry, and they’re scrambling for anything more that might give them a window.

_ Get the arm back in! _

“Kerberos!  Come in, Kerberos!”  It’s background noise now, nothing more than a hum in the back of their minds than than those hydraulics frantically and futilely trying to propel the machine forward.

Behind the screams that rip as loudly as the metal of the jaeger, the claws of the kaiju perforating the chest of the machine.  He’s not at first sure who’s the initial to scream, who is louder, what of the pain immobilizing him is his or his copilot’s, until he’s plunged into silence.

And he knows.

Or maybe he’s suddenly numb.

He reaches out for their severed connection as the kaiju retracts its claw, looming overhead still, but what more’s he to do?  The jaeger’s nothing more than a sparking and flickering hunk of metal without his copilot, his  _ partner _ , and he’s nothing more than dead where he’s strapped into it.

_ Adam _ .

It’s all he can think, the kaiju secondary to the unmoving figure beside him.

_ No, no, no, ADAM _ .

He’s not sure if he’s screaming or not, if he’s projecting it, but he knows he needs to find something.  Anything. But there’s nothing, not even a presence as the claw sinks into the jaeger once more.

This time it’s for him.

* * *

Sleep’s heavy in his eyes, weighing his eyelids closer and closer back to sleep, as the radio whispers unheard.  Truth be told, if it weren’t for his nine am  _ obligation _ , as he likes to call it, he’d still be in his too lumpy bed; it’s one of the shortcomings of living a nocturnal schedule, but that’s how his work operates best, shrouded in dark.  He wouldn’t change it.

_ You mean buyer _ .  He can hear the chiding already, and he snorts.

It may not be the most legal, but at least the police turn a blind eye and it pays the bills.  That’s more than he can ask for in this world, really.

His fingers drum on the counter as he waits for the coffee machine to finish sputtering out what resembles coffee, mug ready and coffee-prone.  He won’t complain because at least it’s something that’ll keep him awake; caffeine is caffeine no matter where it comes from, and he’s going to savor the energy slipping through his veins.

God knows his mattress isn’t.

“--- _  Shirogane and Wells presumed dead after an encounter with a category three kaiju just last night --- _ ”

But why settle for caffeine to wake you up when reality can punch you in the gut?

“---   _ Only remnants of Kerberos have been recovered.  The search for their bodies continues --- _ ”

He’s going to be sick.


End file.
